Leave a Comment · Posted on May 24, 2023
Young Writers Open Mic & Publication Launch at The Civic, Barnsley
Young Writers’ Open Mic & Barnsley Young Writers Publication Launch
Wed 12 July 2023 | 6.45pm (for 7.15pm start) to 9.30pm
Where: Barnsley Civic Theatre
Pay as you feel | minimum donation £2
Calling young people (14-25s) from across South Yorkshire! If you write poems, tell stories, compose lyrics, spit bars, or have anything else to say out loud to a supportive audience, this is an evening to celebrate your words, ideas and talents in a warm atmosphere. We’ll also be launching a publication of fiction and poetry by Barnsley Young Writers.
Open to all, both new and experienced. Reserve a definite reading slot here, or put your name down on the night (slots limited).
There will be a bar for refreshments and a small bookstall.
In Partnership with Civic Barnsley and Historic England
Big thanks to the amazing Jason White at The Civic.
Leave a Comment · Posted on May 23, 2023
Hive Online Poetry Programme
Hive Online Poetry Programme – Sundays in July 2023
A set of fun, inspiring online poetry workshops for new, aspiring or emerging young poets to develop or refresh your poetry writing skills. Open to young people aged 17-30 in the north of England & Midlands | Application deadline 18th June 2023
Writing poetry can be a solitary interest to navigate, whether you’re starting out or have been at it a while. It’s difficult to know where to get feedback, or if what you’re writing is as good as it can be. And then there’s what to do with a poem once you’ve finished it.
If you’re an aspiring or emerging young poet, keen to develop or refresh or your skills, Hive is running a five-week online poetry programme on Sunday evenings from 2nd July on Zoom with prize-winning poet, Vicky Morris. The programme will offer a supportive and immersive set of five evening Zoom workshops and individual feedback support to inspire and guide you to getting where you want to go with your poetry.
“Building my confidence learning about poetry and surprising myself with what I write – has changed everything for me. I now proudly call myself a poet.”
You can come to all of the workshops or just a few if you can’t make them all. Through the programme, you’ll:
- Write – exploring a range of exciting exercises and example texts to generate great ideas leading to poems you’ll want to polish and send out for publication
- Build your confidence, knowledge and motivation while identifying and working towards your own writing goals
- Focus on the mechanics of writing poetry and get edit tips and tricks for strengthening your work including looking at before/after examples of published work
- Receive one-to-one feedback on work, and tips and insights into publishing routes and opportunities
Who’s it for?
The programme is for new, aspiring and emerging young poets aged 17 to 30. As the programme is on Zoom, it’s open to young people with a home or term address anywhere across the North and Midlands who would like to develop their writing further. Both those who’ve done poetry workshops or courses before, and those completely new to them are welcome to apply. We’re also keen to hear from people who feel like they wouldn’t normally be able to access this kind of opportunity.
Whatever stage you’re at, you might lack direction, sticking power or confidence. You might have a project you want inspiration to get stuck into, or to sharpen your skills and hone your work, or you might simply want a regular reason to write and connect with other young writers. No experience necessary, all interests welcome.
Expect a warm, inclusive and supportive group led by an experienced poet and editor. Sunday evenings 6-8pm on Zoom 2nd to 30th July 2023 (although it’s possible that one of these dates needs to change, which will be discussed with the group)
Cost and Bursaries
The programme is supported by Hive South Yorkshire meaning a cost of just £65 for five sessions and one-to-one feedback. Programmes like this normally cost upwards of £300 but this Hive fiction programme is heavily subsidised as a way to reach new and emerging young writers and remove barriers to developing as a writer. If cost is still a barrier, please see below bursary discounts available.
Bursary discount places
If the cost of the programme is a barrier to attending, we have a number of discounted bursary places available at £45. Please write ‘bursary discount’ on your application if this applies to you. You won’t be penalised for being unable to afford the full fee.
To Apply
Send (in one Word or .rtf document) of up to 3 poems (but no pressure if you don’t have poems to send!), in the same file as 250 words about yourself and your poetry writing interests. You could include: where you are with your writing and any input you’ve had with it, why you’re applying for this programme, and how you think it would be of help. Please also send: Your age, date of birth, telephone number, address (term or home), and anything else you might want to tell us by midnight Sunday 18th June 2023 to poetry@hivesouthyorkshire.com [Note places will be limited to ensure a supportive programme]
Vicky Morris is a British/Welsh poet based in Sheffield. Her chapbook If All This Never Happened won the Munster Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition 2021 and was shortlisted in the Saboteur Awards for Best Poetry Pamphlet 21/22. Her poetry has appeared in places like The Rialto, The Poetry Review, Magma, Poetry Wales and The North. She has been placed in various competitions including winning the Aurora Prize for Poetry 2020, and the Prole Laurate Competition in 2019. Vicky is the founder of Hive Young Writers and has mentored many emerging young writers who’ve received accolades such as the Foyle Young Poet of the Year and the New Poets Prize. In 2019 she received a Sarah Nulty Award for her impact developing younger writers across the region. She is a recent Arvon/Jerwood mentee, and was shortlisted for the Mairtín Crawford Award 2022.
Leave a Comment · Posted on May 22, 2023
The Pretense of Understanding
Beth Davies’ debut New Poets Prize-winning pamphlet The Presence of Understanding is now available to preorder or order! from the Smith|Doorstop bookshop. One of four winning collections it will launch on Sunday 28th May at Sheaf Poetry Festival in Sheffield.
Anthony Anaxagorou said of Beth’s collection, The Pretense of Understanding – A beautifully strange and encoded book. I was particularly drawn to the tensions made between a place and a self – the longing to connect while remaining cautious as to what that connection asked for.
Beth Davies (she/her) is an emerging poet based in Sheffield. Her poetry has been published in Poetry Wales, Atrium, Rust + Moth, and Pulp Poets Press, as well as in anthologies such as Candlestick Press’ Ten Poems about Flowers and Valley Press’ Verse Matters. She won second place in the 2021 Dead Cat Poetry Prize and in the 2022 Magdalena Young Poets Prize. In addition to being a member of Hive Poetry Collective, Beth is a graduate of The Writing Squad, Durham University Slam Team, and Sheffield Young Writers.
Leave a Comment · Posted on April 4, 2023
Hive at Sheaf Poetry Festvial 2023
From 21st to 28th May 2023 it’s… the Sheaf Poetry Festival 2023 and we’re very excited to be part of the action again!
It’s such a joy to see so many Hive young poets being celebrated at the festival this year, including Luke Worth, Young Poet in Residence for Sheaf this year. Here’s a rundown of the events you can catch them. Note, there are a range of ticket options including pay what you can afford, streaming online and a weekend festival pass. Thanks to Suzannah Evans and Gevi Carver from the festival for giving Hive young poets such a great platform to be heard and develop. You can find the full festival programme here.
HIVE RELATED EVENTS
On Friday 26th May, (19:30 – 21:30pm) Hive poet and Doncaster Young Writers alumnus Safia Khan, will read alongside Charlotte Shevchenko Knight at Dead Women Poets Society: Poetry ‘séance’ at the atmospheric Samuel Worth Chapel at Sheffield General Cemetery. Dead [Women] Poets Society resurrects women writers through exploration by living poets. After, there’ll be an open mic where audience members are encouraged to share a poem by a dead woman poet, as well as, or instead of, a poem of their own. Sign up to the open mic. And you can buy Saifa’s stunning debut New Poets Prize-winning pamphlet here.
On Saturday 27th May, (11.30am – 13.30pm) we are in partnership with Sheaf for a young people’s poetry workshop with Nigerian British writer Yomi Sode at Theatre Deli, Sheffield. Yomi’s debut collection Manorism (Penguin 2022) is published alongside a stage adaptation at the Southbank Centre and shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2023 and the T S Eliot Prize 2022. The workshop, exploring language, the intention behind why we write, what we write, and whether it reaches its desired outcome, is FREE to young people of all interests and experience levels aged 15 to 25 and we’d love you to sign up if that’s you!
Following the workshop (after lunch) Yomi Sode will read alongside a showcase of Hive poets (list to be added soon), from Sheffield and beyond, including Sheaf Young Poet in Residence Luke Worthy. Luke is also writing a commissioned poem under the festival theme of Brains & Consciousness (read during that event). The showcase as also at Theatre Deli Saturday 27th May 2.30 – 3.45pm) and you can book a FREE ticket here.
On Sunday 28th May (14:30 – 15:30pm) at Theatre Deli, Hive poet Warda Yassin will read at the launch of a new anthology, Tunes of Enchantment. Led by Shirin Teifouri, the anthology presents the work of a group of women with roots from Nigeria, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Somalia, and Iran. They’ve been meeting and sharing their writing throughout lockdown and beyond, supported by mental health charity Sheffield Flourish. Book (PAYF) here.
And at 4-5pm it’s the launch of the pamphlets of last year’s New Poets Prize Winners: Serena Alagappan, Tom Branfoot, Chloe Elliot & our very own Beth Davies. Beth’s pamphlet The Pretence of Understanding, available to pre-order, is a brilliant and captivating read. Since 2016, the Poetry Business New Poets’ Prize has offered publication and development opportunities to poets aged 17-24. Book here.
And to conclude Hive happenings at the festival, you can catch Hive poet and BBC Radio Sheffield presenter Sile Sibanda reading alongside fabulous local poets Helen Mort and Rachel Bower at the Sheffield Showcase Finale. There’ll also be music from Rosey PM and an open mic (Sunday 28th May, 8 – 10.30pm, Theatre Deli)
To browse the full Sheaf Poetry Festival programme, click here >>
Leave a Comment · Posted on April 4, 2023
Hive Competition Results 2022/23
Leave a Comment · Posted on March 28, 2023
Shaping Great Stories: from take-off to landing, with Dan Powell
Shaping Great Stories: from take-off to landing
A Hive Short Story Day with Dan Powell
All experience levels welcome | For young people aged 15-25
Saturday 15th April | 10.30 for 10.45 start to 4/4.15pm (refreshments & dinner break)
Cantor Building, Arundel Street, Sheffield (4 minutes from Sheffield train station)
Cost: £6 / £4.50 concessions | booking: info@hivesouthyorkshire.com
‘You start writing the ending when you write the first word.’ Jerome Stern
How do we find the right beginning for a story? Or the right ending? And how do we navigate the space between beginning and ending to craft a story that carries a reader meaningfully from first line to last?
Join prize-winning writer, Dan Powell, for this playful short story writing workshop day, exploring all things narrative structure. You’ll look at a range of short fiction that uses story structure in weird and wonderful ways to get you thinking about how narratives ticks and encourage you to experiment with shaping your own stories.
Expect stimulating writing exercises and an easy-going and supportive atmosphere open to all levels and interests. Dan will also read from his own work and share tips and advice about other aspects of story writing and getting your work out there in the world.
You’ll leave the workshop with a greater understanding of how story can be shaped for maximum effect and how the ending of story should pulse right through the narrative, building like a powerful wave that sweeps the reader away with the final line.
Dan Powell is a prize-winning author of short fiction from the West Midlands. He recently completed his PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester and his stories have appeared in The Salt Anthology of New Writing, New Short Stories, Unthology, The Lonely Crowd, The London Magazine, Carve, Being Dad, The End, and Best British Short Stories. His debut collection, Looking Out of Broken Windows, was shortlisted for the Scott Prize and longlisted for both the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Edge Hill Prize. Most recently, his short story ‘Half-mown Lawn’ was performed as part of a Best British Short Stories Word Theatre event. Dan also runs writing workshops in festivals, schools and universities and is a First Story writer-in-residence in the East Midlands. He can be found online at danpowellfiction.com and on Twitter as @danpowfiction.
Leave a Comment · Posted on April 3, 2023
Freya Bantiff wins 3rd in National Poetry Competition!
A huge congratulations to Freya Bantiff, who came 3rd in the National Poetry Competition announced at a live awards event at the Southbank Centre, London on 29 March 2023, for her brilliant poem God the Whale.
To be placed in the National Poetry competition is such an achievement, and even more so for someone in their early twenties! The NPC is the biggest of its kind in the UK with a first place cash prize of £5000. There were over 17,800 poems submitted to this round of the competition from 8,112 poets from 103 countries worldwide.
The judges comment on Freya’s winning poem: “What begins as a theological debate develops into a recasting of God as a wild creature and it is this haunting image – the symbol of our spiritual longing as a beleaguered, lost and sorrowing creature – that lends the poem its emotional power and originality.
The speaker of the poem, by placing their faith – such as it is – in an endangered species on their bewildered migration, accentuates our need to have faith but the overwhelming odds stacked against it. How we simply find it hard to be – and do – good. How our actions that lead to the destruction of our planet and each other might also have a profound effect on our spirituality.
What makes this poem so compelling is how it shifts an intellectual argument into a living, suffering body, sounding a warning that old ways of thinking have failed, that even God has become merely the sad and damaged repository of our wilfulness and greed.”
The judges were Jason Allen-Paisant, Michael Symmons Roberts and Greta Stoddart. Congratulations to all placed and commended. To read all the winning poems, click here.
On behalf of Hive and all at Hive Poetry – congratulations Freya!
Top photo of Freya: Hayley Madden
Freya Bantiff is a poet and fiction writer from Sheffield. She has placed in a wide range of competitions including joint-first prize in the 2022 Bridport Poetry Prize (18-25s), and winning the Canterbury Poet of the Year Competition 2021, the Bedford Poetry Competition 2021, the Walter Swan Poetry Prize 2020 (18-25s) and the Timothy Corsellis Poetry Prize in 2017. Freya’s poems and stories have been placed in Dear Life anthology (Hive 2022), the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award (2021), Mslexia Flash Fiction Competition (2020), the Ilkley Literature Poetry Festival (2010–2015) and Foyle Young Poet of the Year (2015). Freya is a member of Hive Poetry and is currently studying an MA at UEA.
Leave a Comment · Posted on April 3, 2023
Poetry with intention: with Yomi Sode
Poetry with intention: a workshop with Yomi Sode
In partnership with Sheaf Poetry Festival 2023
FREE | limited tickets | 11.30 – 1.30pm at Theatre Deli, Sheffield
(followed by a Yomi Sode & Hive showcase reading for those who want to join us!)
Hive have teamed up again with the brilliant Sheaf Poetry Festival this May to offer an exciting workshop with award-winning Nigerian British writer and performer, Yomi Ṣode. The workshop will explore language, the intention behind why we write, what we write, and whether it reaches its desired outcome. Through the workshop, you’ll explore poems, narrative practices, and the use of communal dialect through poetry exercises.
We are pleased to be working in partnership with Sheaf Poetry Festival to bring you this workshop FREE of charge. Open to young writers aged 15-30 of all levels & interests. Warm, supportive & relaxed. Places are limited so we ask anyone signing up to let us know if anything changes so that their place can become free for someone else to benefit from.
Note: after the workshop, there will be a reading with a selection of Hive poets, including Sheafd Festival Young Poet in Residence, Luke Worthy, and Yomi Sode. Participants from the workshop are welcome to stay with us over lunch and come to the reading free (pay as you feel). Let us know if you’d like to come to the reading too.
Please sign up with your name, town & date of birth to: info@hivesouthyorkshire.com
Sheaf Poetry festival has grown and changed over the years, but its priorities have remained the same – to celebrate all the brilliance Sheffield’s poetry scene has to offer whilst also bringing exciting contemporary poets from the UK and beyond to Sheffield to perform. Our festival aims to develop poetry readers, writers and listeners through our wide variety of workshops and events. Our programme celebrates the best in UK poetry, spoken word and lyrics, taking place 21-28 May 2023 in venues across Sheffield and the Peak District, with live-streaming for online audiences and live-captioned events. Our festival themes are Activism, Access to the Outdoors, and Brains and Consciousness. Events range from reading and talks to poetry walks, music and workshops. www.sheafpoetryfestvial.com
Yomi Ṣode is a Nigerian British writer. His debut collection ‘Manorism’ explores family, survival, generational trauma and the complexities of belonging (Penguin 2022) and is published alongside a stage adaptation at the Southbank Centre. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2023 and the T S Eliot Prize 2022. Yomi was shortlisted for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021 and received the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship in 2019. His acclaimed one-man show COAT toured nationally to sold-out audiences, including at the Brighton Festival, Roundhouse Camden and the Battersea Arts Centre. In 2020 his libretto Remnants, written in collaboration with award-winning composer James B. Wilson and performed with Chineke! Orchestra premiered on BBC Radio 3.
In 2021, his play, and breathe… premiered at the Almeida Theatre to rave reviews. Yomi is a Complete Works alumnus and a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. He is the founder of BoxedIn, First Five, The Daddy Diaries, and mentorship programme, 12 in 12. yomisode.com
Leave a Comment · Posted on March 27, 2023
News: BYW at Barnsley Civic
Lots of great things have been happening via Barnsley Young Writers recently so we wanted to blow a trumpet for them!
In March, current and former Barnsley Young Writers members Becca Green, Ben Whiston, Brooke Lees, Chloe Pearson, Elliot Blades, Kes, Izzy Whiston and Sofie Stothers, had their work selected to be published in the Teenage Wildlife magazine. Teenage Wildlife, managed by Barnsley Civic and funded by Historic England, is a project exploring 70 years of youth culture and teenage experience in the Eldon Street area of Barnsley. In May, Barnsley Young Writers will publish their first chapbook as part of the project.
In February BYW Sofie Stothers and Elliot Blades had their poems The Journey and My Mother’s Daughter selected to be included in an LGBTQ+ History Month exhibition, exploring Barnsley LGBTQ+ youth culture.
BYW member Charlotte Pearce has her poem Delicate published in Barnsley Civic’s Spring season guide. Delicate was inspired by circus theatre company Extraordinary Bodies who create unique and magical spaces where diverse bodies are embraced, boundaries are broken, and inclusivity is championed.
Barnsley Civic and Hive South Yorkshire are proud to announce that Creative Minds are supporting Barnsley Young Writers with funding into autumn. Their support, plus the continued support of Barnsley Civic means that the group will continue to thrive throughout 2023. Creative Minds is a charity hosted by Southwest Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which integrates creativity and the arts into mainstream health and wellbeing practice.
Jason White, Barnsley Civic’s Community Engagement Coordinator says, “Since relaunching Barnsley Young Writers in February 2022 at the Civic, the group has achieved great things. In the summer, they enjoyed a trip to the Hive Open Mic & book launch event at Sheffield Leadmill, and many performed. Since then a number of individual members have had their work selected to be displayed or published online and in print. I’m proud of Barnsley Civic’s continued work with Hive South Yorkshire and feel that Barnsley Young Writers really sets a precedent in Barnsley for how to engage with young people and create opportunities that are especially meaningful to young people articulating and share their lived experience. I’m especially proud the group has become a safe space for LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent young people.”
Leave a Comment · Posted on February 18, 2023
Hive Online Fiction Programme with Rachel Bower (aged 17-30)
For new, aspiring or emerging writers aged 17-30 in the north of England & Midlands Hive fiction programme is a supportive, inclusive space to refresh or develop your skills. Application deadline 31st March | Discount bursary places available Programme Two: Thursday evenings 6-8pm on Zoom from 13th April
Writing can be a solitary and tricky business to navigate, whether you’re starting out or have been at it a while. It’s difficult to know where to get feedback, or if what you’re writing is as good as it can be. And then there’s what to do with a piece of work once you’ve finished it.
If you’re an aspiring or emerging short story writer, or novelist, keen to refresh or develop your skills, Hive is running an online fiction programme on Thursday evenings from 13th April with the brilliant novelist, short story writer and poet, Rachel Bower. The programme will offer a supportive and immersive set of six evening Zoom workshops and individual feedback support to inspire and guide you to getting where you want to go with your writing.
“An abundance of sources, advice and support.” Feedback from a participant on Rachel’s last fiction programme
Join award-winning fiction writer Rachel Bower, for all things furthering your fiction, and:
- Write – through exploring a range of exciting exercises and example texts you’ll generate great ideas leading to short fiction you’ll want to polish and send out for publication
- Build your confidence, knowledge and motivation while identifying and working towards your writing goals
- Focus on the mechanics of fiction writing such as creating compelling and believable characters, convincing dialogue and description, and strong plots
- Learn how to edit your work to make it publication-ready. Looking at before/after examples of published work, you’ll learn the tricks of identifying the often small changes that can turn something good into something brilliant
- Receive peer and one-to-one feedback on work, and tips and insights into publishing routes and opportunities
- Consider how you can keep moving forward beyond the programme as a writer with peer support
Who’s it for?
The programme is for new, aspiring and emerging young fiction writers aged 17 to 30. As the programme is on Zoom, it’s open to writers from across the north and midlands who would like to develop their writing further. Both those who’ve done fiction workshops or courses before and those completely new to them are welcome to apply. We’re also keen to hear from people who feel like they wouldn’t normally be able to access this kind of opportunity.
Whatever stage you’re at, you might lack direction, sticking power or confidence. You might have a project you want inspiration to get stuck into, or to sharpen your skills and hone your work, or you might simply want a regular reason to write and connect with other young writers. All levels, genres and interests welcome.
Expect a warm, inclusive and supportive group with a wonderful writer and mentor.
Thursday evenings 6-8pm on Zoom from 13th April 2023.
Cost and Bursaries
The programme is subsidised by Hive South Yorkshire meaning a cost of just £75 for six sessions, an edit surgery and one-to-one feedback. Programmes like this normally cost upwards of £300 but this Hive fiction programme is heavily subsidised as a way to reach new and emerging young writers and remove barriers to developing as a writer. If cost is still a barrier, please see below bursary discounts available.
Bursary discount places
If the cost of the programme is a barrier to attending, we have a number of bursary places available discounting the programme to £45. Please write ‘bursary discount’ on your application if this applies to you. You won’t be penalised for being unable to afford the full fee.
To Apply
Send (in one Word or .rtf document) of up to 3xA4 pages of work (but no pressure if you don’t have much to send), followed by up to 350 words about yourself and your writing interests. You can include: where you are with your writing and any input you’ve had with it, why you’re applying for this programme, and how you think it would be of help.
Please also send: Your age, date of birth, telephone number, address (term or home), and anything else you might want to tell us by midnight 31st March to fiction@hivesouthyorkshire.com [Note places will be limited to ensure a supportive programme]
Rachel Bower is an award-winning writer based in Sheffield. She is the author of two poetry collections and a book on literary letters. Her stories and poems have been widely published in literary magazines, including The London Magazine, The White Review, Magma, Stand and Frontier. She won The London Magazine Short Story Prize 2019/20 and the W&A Short Story Competition 2020. She has also been listed for the White Review Short Story Prize 2019, the RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize and the BBC Short Story Prize. Rachel is a qualified community development worker and has over ten years’ experience running workshops with a wide range of people and organisations.
Feedback from Rachel’s last Hive fiction course:
“Incredibly useful and helped me to make sure I prioritised writing. Really nice to meet some fellow writers and know I’ll be seeing them each week. Rachel’s prompts and advice were really refreshing and supportive! Thank you.”
“Rachel was so accommodating to everybody’s needs, rearranging sessions if we needed to and including session outlines in the chat, we really couldn’t have asked for anymore.”
“Thank you, Rachel! this has been great and another really great first steps for me! it’s been nice to have something to show up for every week!”
“Thank you SO much Rachel this has been a wonderful course! Feeling inspired and looking forward to keeping in touch :)”
“Thank you so much Rachel and everyone else, my confidence has grown so much! I’ve written more in these last few weeks than in a long time. Definitely hope we can keep writing together!”